QT 16/06/2025 Mon. Jeremiah 29. Hope in the Waiting. 等待中的希望
QT 16/06/2025 Mon. Jeremiah 29. Hope in the Waiting.
READ http://www.esv.org/jer29
When a worship service starts, how do you know whether that assembly is “true worship” (solid healthy stuffs) or “holy theatre” (wayang)?
Jeremiah 29 reminds readers to focus on the spiritual discipline of hope, waiting, obedience, and true faith in the LORD.
Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29 isn’t a feel-good coffee mug verse taken out of context—it’s a letter from Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon. These were God’s people, displaced, discouraged, and wondering if God had abandoned them. False prophets were telling them they’d be home soon. But God, through Jeremiah, tells them: It’s going to be seventy years.
That’s a long wait. But even in exile, God’s plan was active. He told them to build houses, plant gardens, marry, seek the good of the city, and trust that He had not forgotten them.
Theatrical religion still thrives today. It appears in messages that offer glory without the cross, blessings without brokenness, and a version of God shaped more by public appeal than by Scripture. But as in Jeremiah’s day, God still calls His people to discern truth from illusion.
Reflection:
We often want rescue right now. We want the blessing without the burden, the promise without the process. But Jeremiah 29 reminds us that God’s best work is often done in the waiting.
This chapter is not about quick fixes—it’s about faithful living in unfamiliar places. It’s about holding on to God’s character when your circumstances feel like judgment. It’s about trusting the God who sees the end from the beginning.
Key Lessons:
(1) God’s Plan Is Not Always Immediate, But It’s Always Good (v.11).
The delay didn’t mean God had abandoned them—it meant He was refining them. The same is true today. What looks like silence may be God’s strategy for deeper transformation.
(2) Faithfulness in Exile Is Still Faithfulness (v.5-7).
God didn’t tell them to hide or despair. He told them to settle in and seek the good of the city. Faith in hard places is powerful. Your job is not just to escape—your job is to reflect Jesus even in Babylon.
(3) Prayer Anchors Us to Hope (v.12-13).
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.” God doesn’t just want your location changed—He wants your heart awakened.
Application: Where do you feel like you're in exile right now?
(1) Is it in a job you don’t enjoy?
(2) A relationship that’s breaking your heart?
(3) A season of spiritual dryness?
God is saying: “Build, pray, plant, bless—even here. I haven’t forgotten you.” We don’t wait for God’s promises passively—we live with active obedience and hopeful endurance.
Prayer:
Father, thank You that Your plans are good even when I don’t understand them. Help me to trust You in the waiting, to be faithful where You’ve placed me, and to believe that Your future for me is full of hope. Teach me to live well in the in-between, with eyes fixed on Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
QT 16/06/2025 星期一. 耶利米书 29 等待中的希望
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/Jer/29/
当崇拜聚会开始时，你怎么知道这个聚会是 “真正的敬拜”（健康的东西）还是 “一场表演”？
耶利米书 29 章提醒读者要注重盼望、等候、顺服和对耶和华的真信心，等属灵的复兴。
经文重点 耶利米书 29：11
因我自己知道我为你们所定的计划，是使你们得平安，而不是遭受灾祸的计划；要赐给你们美好的前程和盼望。’这是耶和华的宣告。
耶利米书第 29 章并不是断章取义的令人感觉良好的经文--它是耶利米写给巴比伦流亡者的一封信。这些都是上帝的子民，他们流离失所，心灰意冷，怀疑上帝是否已经抛弃了他们。假先知告诉他们，他们很快就能回家了。但上帝通过耶利米告诉他们： 要等七十年。
这是一个漫长的等待。但即使是在流亡中，上帝的计划也是积极的。祂告诉他们建造房屋、种植花园、结婚、为城市谋福利，并相信祂没有忘记他们。
戏剧化的宗教在今天依然兴盛，其表现形式是：没有经过十字架的途径的荣耀，没有经过破碎后的祝福，以及更多由公众呼吁而非圣经塑造的上帝。但正如耶利米的时代一样，上帝仍然呼召祂的子民辨别真理和假象。
反思：
我们常常想要立刻得到拯救。我们想要没有负担的祝福，没有过程的应许。但耶利米书第 29 章提醒我们，上帝最好的工作往往是在等待中完成的。
这一章讲的不是快速解决问题，而是在陌生的地方忠实地生活。它是关于当你的环境感觉像是审判时，如何坚持上帝的品格。这是关于相信那位从一开始就看到结局的神。
主要教导：
(1) 上帝的计划并不总是立竿见影的，但总是好的（第 11 节）。
延迟并不意味着上帝抛弃了他们，而是意味着祂正在磨炼他们。今天也是如此。看似沉默的事情可能是神的策略，目的是为了更深入地改造。
(2）流亡中的忠心仍然是忠心（第5-7节）。
神没有叫他们躲藏或绝望。祂让他们安顿下来，寻求城市的益处。在艰苦的地方，信心是强大的。你的任务不仅仅是逃离，你的工作是即使在“巴比伦”也要体现耶稣。
(3) 祷告让我们锚定希望（第12-13节）。
12 ‘你们要呼求我，要来向我祷告，我就必应允你们。 13 你们要寻找我，只要一心寻求，就必寻见。
应用： 你现在觉得自己被流放在哪里？
(1) 是你不喜欢的工作吗？
(2) 一段让你心碎的感情？
(3) 一个灵性枯竭的季节？
上帝在说 "建造 祈祷 种植 祝福 甚至在这里 我没有忘记你们。我们不是被动地等待上帝的应许，而是以积极的顺服和充满希望的忍耐来生活。
祷告：
天父，感谢您，即使我不明白您的计划，您的计划也是美好的。帮助我在等待中相信你，在你安排我做的事情上忠心，相信你为我安排的未来充满希望。教导我在两者之间好好生活，眼睛紧盯着耶稣。奉耶稣的名，阿门。
